Japan protests Chinese vessels near disputed islands

TOKYO (AA) – Japan has lodged a protest with China after more than 200 Chinese vessels -- including some belonging to its coast guard -- were seen in waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Japan’s foreign ministry announced the protest Saturday after around 230 fishing boats and six Chinese coast guard vessels were confirmed in a contiguous zone near the Senkaku Islands -- which China calls the Diaoyu Islands.

Local news agency Kyodo also cited the Japanese coast guard as saying that some of the Chinese coast guard vessels appeared to be equipped with guns.

The director general of the foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kenji Kanasugi, said that such “a unilateral act” raises tensions “and it is unacceptable to us."

Saturday’s protest was lodged a day after the ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador after eight Chinese fishing and coast guards vessels reportedly entered “Japanese territorial waters” around the Senkakus.

The Senkakus are a group of uninhabited islets currently controlled by Japan in the East China Sea.

High-level dialogue between China and Japan had been suspended for two years prior to a meeting in Nov. 2014 between their leaders due to tension following the Japanese government’s purchase of three of the disputed islands in Sept. 2012.